A top surgeon has warned of a worrying new playground craze which has almost killed three children in a matter of weeks.

Sanja Besarovic, a consultant paediatric surgeon at Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said an influx of young people are taking part in a new "body piercing" fad.

She has written to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents to describe her "growing concern" about the growing casualties who have fallen victim to the craze, the Hull Daily Mail reports.

Ms Besarovic, who is known to patients as Miss B, said she has seen three cases in the past three months alone.

The craze sees youngsters try to mimic having a tongue piercing with magnetic ball bearings, which have been said to stick to each other through loops of gastrointestinal tract and could cause bowel perforation or intestinal blockage.

(Image: Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust)

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Earlier this month, Freddie Webster, 12, had to have ten centimetres of his bowel removed in a lifesaving operation at Hull Royal Infirmary after swallowing magnetic ball bearings which ripped a hole through his stomach.

In Freddie's case, when he tried to move the ball bearing around his cheek, two of the balls slipped down his throat.

Just five hours later, he accidentally swallowed another two of the balls and began to experience pains in his stomach.

Ms Besarovic, said: "I am concerned about the growing incidence of this problem.

"Parents and schools should be aware of this craze so they can warn children of the life-threatening risks especially if swallowed at different times.

"Most of children are asymptomatic and first symptoms like abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting develop only after damage had been done."

Two others, including a four-year-old, were rushed to Hull Royal after swallowing ball magnets.

Ms Besarovic, said: "We have been able to save these children but I'm growing increasingly concerned that this is happening more often.

"Both of the children recovered well after surgery but the next child may not be so lucky."